Cig-Sucking WWE Star -- SMOKED by Tobactivist

4/19/2011 1:45 PM PDT

Cig-Sucking WWE Star -- SMOKED by Tobactivist

WWE star R-Truth is taking serious heat for lighting up a cigarette on "RAW" last night ... in front of a row of kids -- and now, the biggest anti-smoking activist on the planet is DEMANDING he apologize.

The drama began when Ron "R-Truth" Killings hit up the audience for a smoke ... and actually LIT UP right in front of them ... including several children.

But the on-screen cig-fest didn't sit so well with anti-smoking activist Patrick Reynolds (pictured right) -- Executive Director of TobaccoFree.org -- who has officially issued a challenge to the wrestler ... to publicly apologize for the smoking stunt.

Reynolds -- ironically the grandson of tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds -- tells TMZ, "For him to smoke in front of [children] is irresponsible. At best, it's
thoughtless, and at worst, if he calculated appealing to kids by posing
as a bad-boy outlaw, it's evil."

Reynolds adds, "If he wants help in quitting, I'll be happy to be his personal coach."

The WWE issued a statement to TMZ defending the cigarette incident -- saying, "The negative effect smoking has on one’s health and physical performance was a part of a storyline on last night’s Monday Night Raw. Negative depictions of tobacco use on television are not unusual and can be seen on other TV-PG shows."